SUSTAINABLE Living in the Mallee (SLIM) is holding a free Mallee Climate Action Forum on Saturday, April 30 at The Hub, Swan Hill Racecourse.
All are welcome at the event to discuss this vital issue, and SLIM group spokesperson Peta Thornton said the group had invited community leaders and candidates for the upcoming federal election.
“It will be a community gathering to come together to discuss the climate emergency, with a focus on our region, agriculture, water, health and youth, and examples of people and groups taking action,” Ms Thornton said.
“We want to inspire people and give hope, because the latest intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) report that came out this month was very sobering.
“As a community we need to tackle these challenges head on and organise to respond to the code-red climate report.”
Speakers for the event will include Professor Will Steffen from the Climate Council, Wemen farmer Andrew Young representing Farmers for Climate Action, Jane Morton representing ClimateEmergencyDeclaration.org, Environment Victoria’s Tyler Rotche, Agriculture Victoria’s Melissa Cann, Chris Forbes, from Mallee Family Care, and Matt Charles Jones, from Totally Renewable Yakandandah.
These speakers will speak to a range of national and hyper-local themes, including Andrew Young from Red Gold Farm in Wemen.
Mr Young is a member of Farmers for Climate Action and has proven the viability of a greener form of agriculture as a finalist in the Coles-Weekly Times Farmer of the Year.
“It is not something that we can leave to any level of government, we must organise as a community,” Ms Thornton said.
“This forum is to kick that off and bring us up to speed with other regions meeting the challenge and embracing opportunities.
“There is a plethora of actions we can take including renewable energy, fuel switching, consumption and waste minimisation.
“Building adaptation and resilience will be a big focus of the forum.”
SLIM member Sarina Kelly the event will be full of information but will also be interactive.
“The aim of the forum is to promote community awareness and action to build a safe and sustainable Mallee region, now and for the future,” Ms Kelly said.
“It is thinking globally and acting locally in a connected community.
“People can go to our Facebook page, Sustainable Living in the Mallee – SLIM, to register and find out more details about the event.”
